A Never Known Love
by Kioasakka
Summary: Zelda never knew of her love for Link until he died in an attempt to save Hyrule from Vaati, to whom she is soon married. She is no longer Link's damsel in distress. Can she fight for herself—by herself?
1. Loss

**LOSS.  
**

**She'd** never forget the last words he ever spoke to her. "Don't worry, Zelda. It's just a small battle against Vaati. Nothing is going to happen. How could it? I saved Hyrule from Ganondorf and he had a piece of the Triforce. Vaati can't be much harder when he's accomplishing the same goal without it."

"You will be back, right?" she'd asked, forcing tears to stay in her eyes. She had not been able to hide the worry in her voice, however, or the quiver of her bottom lip as she had asked this.

"Yes. I will be back."

"Promise?" She'd bitten her lip so hard to keep it from quivering that it began to bleed, but she had not cared in the least.

He had smiled at her and held her hands up. "I promise."

Those were the last words she ever heard from him. She whispered a quiet, "Goodbye, Link..." but was not sure he heard her. She'd let the silent tears fall right then and there, knowing that something was going wrong, that he was not coming back...

And she was right. He never came back. Days passed and there was no word from him. On a dull, gloomy Friday afternoon, three weeks after Link left, the life of Princess Zelda would change forever.

The princess was sitting on the courtyard steps, staring over at the spot where she'd first and last met Link, when a tall man with a bushy mustache entered. "Princess Zelda, might I have a word?" he asked.

"Of course, sir," she said, turning to him. "What is it?"

"I have a bit of news about the legendary Hero," the man said.

Zelda's face brightened. "Is he all right? Is he coming back? He's coming today, isn't he? Is he—"

"Please, Princess, settle down," the man said. "I'm afraid what I'm about to tell you certainly won't brighten up your day." Her expression melted into a concerned frown. "I am terribly sorry, Princess, but the legendary Hero has failed in his attempt to save Hyrule again."

"What?" She stood up straight. "Is he badly hurt? I wish to see him right away! Tell me of his current whereabouts immediately, sir!"

"His current whereabouts, you ask for? My dear Princess, if you wish to see him, visit the cemetery in Kakariko Village. His body lies inside the Royal Family's Tomb, as he was such a courageous and strong young lad that we just had to put him in with the bodies of the dead royals."

Zelda took off and ran out of the castle and through the Market toward Hyrule Field, where she crossed the bridge and went inside the village of Kakariko. _No... _she thought. _No, this can't be true... Link can't be dead, he just can't be... _She felt as if her heart was tearing in half, a feeling she had never before experienced.

Once she reached the graveyard, she entered the Royal Family Tomb and looked around. She walked through two doors to where the Composer Brothers' Song was inscribed. The ReDeads that had once lingered in the room between the entrance and the inscription had vanished after Link saved Hyrule, and thus she had none of them to worry about. She closed her eyes and after a few moments, the inscribed stone moved aside, revealing a stairway down to where the bodies were kept, and hurried down.

She looked around and found another door. On the door were the words: _Here lies the body of the Legendary Hero of Time. May he rest in peace though we might not. _Infuriated at the door's words, she grabbed a chisel on the ground nearby and crossed out the words 'though we may not'. She also wrote the name 'Link' above the words 'of' and 'the' and put an arrow down. She read the new door's words, which, if counting only the words not crossed out, said: _Here lies the body of Link, the Legendary Hero of Time. May he rest in peace._

She smiled sadly at the words and opened the door. Inside was a coffin made of pure marble, just as the royal coffins were. The words _RIP: The Hero of Time_ were inscribed in the marble. Once again using the chisel, Zelda wrote Link's name under the words. She threw the chisel aside, took a deep breath and opened the coffin lid. Gasping at the sight inside, she let loose all her tears and broke into a heavy sob. There, in the coffin, was Link's cold, dead body. Zelda ran her fingers over the many cuts on him that he must have gotten while fighting against Vaati. Her tears fell onto his lifeless corpse and she cried and cried for hours, maybe days, it didn't matter to her. She just wanted, for some reason, to die and be with him. A reason, she didn't know, that was not because he was her savior and, most importantly, best friend.


	2. Talk

**TALK.  
**

**"Oh,** for heaven's sake, Princess, just come with me to the castle!"

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving," she said firmly, not looking over at whoever was behind her. The person had been there for quite a while now, trying unsuccessfully to have her come with him to the castle.

"You can't stay in this godforsaken tomb forever," the person said.

"Watch me." Zelda had been sitting in the tomb staring blankly at Link's body for three days. Grief alone was enough to keep her there for hours at a time, but something else was tugging at her to stay put, to not look at anything else but him, something she didn't know or care about.

"Princess, you will die in here if you don't come with me." The person walked closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.

"Then I'll die in here," she answered simply. She was weak from lack of food and water and sunlight, but she didn't care. "I've lost my best friend and I feel it is the end of the world for me."

The person sighed. He leaned down and whispered softly in her ear, "It is the end of the world. For everyone." His breath was hot on her face and it was about as comforting as his words.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Dark King, Vaati, has taken over, and he wishes to see you in your, or should I say, _his _castle…"

"I don't care. I'm not leaving."

"Oh, but you are. And you're going up to the castle with me to meet with the Dark King."

"No, I'm not. Now go to him and tell him that he's not going to see me period, much less if he sends more of his goons to harass me."

He growled. She screamed when he grabbed her until he gagged her. He tied something around her eyes and she couldn't see. She felt him moving; he was leading her out of the tomb. She held up her hand and the coffin lid slammed shut. The man didn't notice or care, he just kept taking her to the castle.

Inside the castle, the man took off the blindfold and she noticed how everything was dark and evil. Moblins and Stalfoses and other monsters stalked the hallways and Zelda felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. How could Vaati have succeeded in all this in a mere few days? Where would she live now? _In the tomb,_ she thought immediately. _I will return to the tomb right after this and stay in there until I die. There's nowhere else for me to go, anyway._

Zelda just realized that the man had flung her over his shoulder while they began climbing stairs. They climbed for quite a while until they reached the rooftop. On the rooftop Zelda could see the figure of Vaati standing next to a dark throne, his back facing them.

"Your Wickedness," the man said. "I have brought the princess." He dumped her on the ground, where she stood motionless, staring at the floor of the roof.

Vaati turned and smiled. "Very well, you may leave." The man bowed deeply and then left. The evil sorcerer walked over to Zelda. "So… the princess of Hyrule… I have been wanting to see you…"

"What do you want?" Zelda asked, not looking up.

"Oh, nothing, really," he said. "It's just, though I've only ruled the world for only a few days now, and yet, I'm terribly lonely."

"How can you be lonely? You have a whole castle full of monsters and guards."

Vaati showed no sign of impatience or anger in his voice. He walked closer to her. "They don't count. They're just there to do my bidding. No, I want someone to rule with me, though have not as much power as I, of course. I want someone to be my companion and we can keep each other company." He put his index finger under her chin and tilted her face gently. Zelda stared angrily into his eyes, which showed no hint of evil. "You poor dear… you must be as lonely as I am, maybe more, what with the death of your very best friend… What was his name again?"

"His name was Link," she said fiercely. "And I'm not lonely."

"You've sat inside the tomb by his side wishing he is back to life and you expect me to believe that you're not lonely?"

Zelda looked away. "You killed him, didn't you? Personally."

"Indeed I did. He was quite the fighter, that boy was. But it's all paid off for I had no more interference as I took the reign."

"You make me sick."

"Oh, now that hurts my feelings, Princess. I did what I had to do."

"No, you did what you did because you wanted something and he was brave enough to stand in your way and try to stop you."

"That is true. And he did try. But trying is not as good as succeeding." Vaati put his hand on her cheek and turned her face to him. "You're such a pretty girl… and as you are royalty, it would be most fitting for you to be my queen."

"Never." Zelda backed away, but he just moved closer.

"I wish you would cooperate, dear," Vaati said, still not revealing any anger. "It would be the easiest way for you to just accept my request. Otherwise I may be forced into drastic measures."

"So kill me. I don't care."

"Why would I kill you? I never said I would kill you. Now, tell me. Will you be my queen?"

"Now, I know the answer you want me to say, but I'm going to have to go with… No."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Zelda thought she saw a hint of red in his eyes now.

"I'm not," she said. "I'd die before becoming your queen."

"But you do not have that option, now, don't you?" Vaati snarled. "Let me try this one more time. Will you be my queen?"

She forced herself to look him directly in the eyes as she answered, "No."


	3. Marriage

**MARRIAGE.  
**

**"So** you are turning down my request." Vaati shrugged. "Ah. I should have expected nothing less from a girl as stubborn as you. No matter. You _will_ be my queen by midnight tonight, like it or not." He stroked her hair. "You and I can and will rule this world together. It's what I want and what I'll get."

"I will never be your queen, Vaati," Zelda snapped. "I will be dead before that happens."

"You will not. As King of the world and your future husband, I forbid it."

Zelda shook her head and took a step backward, toward the edge of the roof. "You have no control over that. Something could happen. One of your minions could mistake me for an enemy they must destroy and start attacking me. Or I could eat or drink something deadly, like poison. Or"—she took another step backward, the heel of her left foot slightly over the edge— "I could fall off a high roof, such as this one."

Vaati's eyes narrowed into slits. "You wouldn't dare."

"You don't know that for sure." Zelda didn't take her eyes off the dark sorcerer. She was unafraid of him. She felt no fear of 'accidentally' falling off the rooftop of the castle to her death. She didn't care. She felt she had no reason to live now that the world was under Vaati's control and her only true friend was dead.

"I forbid you."

"You can't forbid me," said Zelda. "It's my life on the line, not yours. I can and will fall off this roof if I have to."

"But you won't."

"You're wrong. You killed many people, including my best friend. You destroyed villages and towns. You gained power through fear and hate. You are a sick minded fiend who's given me as well as many others no reason to continue living. People like you don't deserve a seat of power. What people like you deserve is the death penalty."

Vaati said nothing. He felt like killing Zelda right then and there but he knew that would not be a very smart thing to do.

The princess turned her back to him and looked down at the ground five stories below. Normally she would be terrified of even the thought of jumping off, but things weren't normal anymore. Nothing would ever be normal again. She felt Vaati's eyes burning into her. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she took another step and felt her body plunge over the edge of the roof. She saw her life flash before her eyes as she opened them.

Then she saw Link. Link as a child, and then Link as a young man. Shame and guilt crept into her mind along with realization. Link never would have wanted this from her. She saw his face, filled with sheer disappointment, and felt her heart tearing into even tinier shreds than they had been when she heard of his death. She closed her eyes again and felt tears leave them.

Zelda had two stories left to fall by this time, and yet she felt something wrap around her, something that felt like chilled arms. They slowed her down, and then left her as she felt herself fall into a warm pair. They whipped her across something sharp and hard and she blacked out.

**xXx**

**"She's** _still_ sleeping?"

"Well, sir, you hit her pretty hard on the head… I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she died…"

"Shut up, fool! She's not that weak!"

"Sir—sir, there's no need to throw things—"

Zelda opened her eyes and saw Vaati pick up a chair and throw it at the man he was talking to. She sat up and didn't notice for a few seconds that she was lying on a bench in a prison cell down in the dungeons of the castle, wearing iron shackles on her wrists and ankles.

Vaati looked over at her. His angry expression vanished and was replaced with a phony smile. "Ah, my dear Princess Zelda! You've awakened! How do you feel?" Zelda didn't reply. Vaati came inside the cell and walked toward her. He kneeled down and was eye level with her. "I am deeply sorry for what happened before. You obviously were upset about losing your friend that you couldn't make a solid decision and decided to kill yourself. I hear grieving does that to you, but I wouldn't know, as I have never and won't ever grieve for anyone."

Zelda looked away. He took her hands in his and a chill ran up her spine. His face grew close to hers, much too close for comfort, but she was unable to push him away. Her head was throbbing in pain and her voice seemed lost and her body felt like it was filled with many stones, but it could have just been the shackles.

"My poor, dear Zelda…" said Vaati, shaking his head slightly. "Why do you continue to deny me? If you became my queen, you could have anything you wanted." He let go of her hands and used one of his to gently turn her face toward his. He caressed her cheek. "I need you. You need me. We both need each other to survive in this world. I will not have any further delays. Zelda, marry me. Together, there is nothing we can't do. Together, we shall rule this world the way it is meant to be ruled. Together, Zelda, is you and I."

She tried to protest, to tell him to get out of her sight and leave her be, but was unable to release the words from her lips as Vaati had closed his mouth on them. A mass of emotions—anger, disturbance, frustration, impatience, and even fear—involuntarily shot through her body. She had never been kissed before by anyone, not even a family relative, and was enraged that Vaati had just thought it appropriate to take that from her. Yet something didn't feel right. Her heart was drained of all hate toward the dark ruler but the emptied space was only slightly filled with other emotions. Zelda ended up closing her eyes and kissing him back, as she could not hear the part of her that was screaming at her to stop this immediately and kill Vaati.

When they broke the kiss, Zelda felt a sudden longing. Something convinced her that it was toward Vaati and when he asked her to marry him once again, she whispered the word, "Yes."

A smile curled onto his face, but it was a smile that was unreadable. If one saw the smile on his face at that moment, they would not know if it was a wicked or happy smile. Zelda didn't notice it. Vaati was the only one with knowledge of whether or not it was wicked or happy. "Then we shall wed tonight. At midnight." He left the cell and closed it. "Iskot will be here in an hour or two to bring you up to the rooftop for the wedding. I will see you then, my dear…" He locked the cell door and walked away.

**xXx**

**An** hour and a half later, Zelda's cell was opened again by the same man who had brought her to the castle hours ago, named Iskot. He walked inside and took off Zelda's shackles. Once they were off, she stood. "You, uh… all ready to go?" he asked, looking her over. She was wearing her normal dress but it had been torn over the past few days. Blood from the gash in her head was streaked down her blonde hair and stained some of the dress, plus her hands as she had tried to stop the flow by pressing on the wound. She nodded and followed him out of the cell.

Iskot held up a torch to light the passageway but it didn't help much. They'd walked up many stairs without speaking by the time they reached the door out of the dungeons and onto the ground level. Monsters guarded every door and prowled the hallways as they made their way up to the roof. A Moblin attacked Zelda, who dodged, and then Iskot commanded it to stop, which it didn't. Eventually Iskot grabbed a double-sided ax and sliced off the Moblin's head. None of the other monsters attacked after that.

Finally they reached the roof. Iskot mumbled, "She's here," to Vaati and then left.

Zelda walked hesitantly over to Vaati. The feelings she'd felt during the kiss had vanished and was replaced with fear instead of confidence and hate. Vaati smiled at her and she smiled back shyly. He took her hand and said, "My dear Zelda, you were given the opportunity to wed the Grand Ruler of the world and you accepted my proposal after a little convincing. In doing so, you agreed to rule by my side as Queen, with much power and reign over the world, though, of course, not as much as I have." He pulled a black ring with a white skull on it out of his pocket and slid it onto the ring finger on Zelda's left hand. "We are now King and Queen." He kissed her again and she felt the same longing she felt earlier after they broke apart.

"Come," he said. "Our thrones awaits." He walked away and down the stairs, leaving Zelda behind. She felt sadder, angrier, and more emotional than ever. But as she examined her ring, she suppressed her tears and emotions inside her and followed Vaati down the stairs.


	4. Visions

**VISIONS.  
**

**Zelda** followed her new husband down to the throne room, where he hopped into the throne that used to belong to her father. The once red throne with gold velvet seats were now black with purple velvet seats. Vaati hopped into the bigger throne and pointed for Zelda to sit in hers, which had also changed colors. The throne had been her mother's, but was given to her when the Queen passed away due to a fatal illness when Zelda was only five years old. She used to love sitting on her mother's throne next to her father and watch him do his kingly work. She used to willingly run up to the throne and fidget excitedly until she learned at age eight that it was no longer appropriate.

She hesitantly sat on the throne and almost immediately began to fidget, but not from excitement this time. She was fidgeting uncomfortably, not because of the throne but because she was afraid what would happen to her now. The castle was filled with evil like she'd only seen once before, when Ganondorf took over and she'd gone into hiding as a man named Sheik to escape his pursuit. The feeling of confidence she'd had earlier that night when she foolishly jumped off the roof to her near death had vanished, and it was replaced with hatred for Vaati, along with fear.

A vision of Link's coffin crossed her mind and she knew she had to go back. She felt like getting up and running there right now, but she didn't know what would happen to her if she did that. She felt Vaati look over at her and he seemed to read her mind.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Zelda," he said. "Unless you do what I forbid done or go where I forbid gone to."

"And… what and where are those things you forbid?" asked Zelda quietly.

"You may not change the appearance of the castle in any way," Vaati began. "Or whatever is inside the castle. You may not change any rules of the world without consulting me first. You may not communicate with anyone but me, and you may only communicate with me if you have anything you'd like to change, but make sure it is something worth my time, or if I speak to you first. You also may not rid any of the monsters patrolling the castle from the grounds. If they attack you, show them the ring on your finger. They will eventually get the picture and stop."

"And where I'm not allowed to go?" She was biting her nails in nervousness, hoping to the goddesses she would not be forbidden to visit the Royal Family's Tomb.

"You may not leave the castle grounds without my permission. You are not allowed to follow me to where I go unless I say otherwise. If I have given you permission to leave the castle grounds, you are not allowed to leave Hyrule or try to run away, because I will find you and hurt you. You are allowed to visit Kakariko Village's Graveyard, but not the Royal Family's Tomb." Zelda's heart sank. "And also… you are never, under _any_ circumstances, to go to the Dark Dungeon, which is the one farthest underground. The dungeon is heavily guarded by my minions and if they see you try to enter, you will be taken to a cell in a higher level and will stay there until I have them release you."

Curiosity crept up her spine, but it took all her willpower to stay put and not start running to the Dark Dungeon. But she did ask, "Why am I not allowed? I went in there all the time as a child…"

"When it was filled with deadly things and people that would kill you with one look at you?" Vaati asked. "I don't think so. You are forbidden from going down there merely because I say so. It is none of your business whatsoever what is down there."

Zelda knew she had to get down there, as she was always a rule breaker and the most curious girl in Hyrule. She knew a secret passageway down there as the dungeons were guarded by the Royal Guards and would never allow her down there. But she was still afraid of what would happen.

"My minions will be guarding every place you are forbidden to go, therefore keeping you safe here with me." Vaati gave her a smile that she immediately knew was fake. "I'm sorry, dear Zelda, but I just want the best for you."

"But… then what _can _I do?" she questioned.

"Oh, I don't know…" He paused, then said, "You can stand around and look pretty."

Zelda's mouth dropped open. "That's all I can do? Just _'stand around and look pretty'_!" She stood up and walked around the room. "What kind of idiot would spend their whole day standing around looking pretty! What do you take me for, some kind of " She stopped herself and stood still. She knew she'd blown it, and that she'd get sent to the dungeons for a month or two.

Vaati slipped off his throne and slowly walked up to her. His shadow loomed over her and he stopped walking when he was close enough for Zelda to feel his hot breath against her face. Beads of sweat trickled down her face as he said, "You know, Zelda… I don't particularly like people with smart mouths… I often send them to die…" She gulped in fear. "But you are my queen… so I shall spare you…" She breathed out a sigh of relief. "This time. Don't backtalk me again, or I might not be so generous to spare your life next time… Do you understand me?" She nodded fearfully, her blue eyes wide. "Good. Now… you must be very tired. I know I am." He called for Iskot, who came and bowed to Vaati. "Take her to her new room to sleep. I bid you goodnight."

"Well, thanks, Boss," Iskot said. "Goodnight to you, too."

Vaati sighed. "I was talking to Zelda."

"Oh." He turned slightly in embarrassment, but then it vanished. "Well, goodnight anyway." Vaati turned and left. "Come with me," said Iskot to Zelda. She nodded and followed him down a hallway and up a staircase. They walked down another hallway to a door that was guarded by a Stalfos. It saw Zelda and lifted it's sword, but Iskot muttered, "Show it the ring," to her and the Stalfos stopped just before it was about to strike her when she did. It growled but stepped aside, letting them pass through.

"Why do the monsters stop attacking when I show them the ring?" Zelda couldn't help asking as she looked over her shoulder at the Stalfos glaring at her as it moved back to guard the door.

"Because the ring is King Vaati's," Iskot grumbled. "He showed it to them all and put it on his finger. The monsters were not fully devoted to King Vaati at the time, as they'd been just taken out of Ganondorf's hand once the seven Sages sealed him away, thanks to you and that pathetic idiot in green." Zelda felt a sudden rush of anger and it took all her strength to keep herself from strangling Iskot. She was so offended by his comment about Link that she felt like grabbing a sword from the closest Stalfos and stabbing him to death. "Anyway," he continued, "Vaati took all the monsters that the kid hadn't destroyed right after Ganondorf was sealed away, and then he took them to his hiding place. He forced them to work for him instead in many ways, often actually carrying out the threats he used on them. Eventually he used the ring and when they attacked him even if he showed it, he'd kill them. They respond to that every time they see it. So long as you wear it, you can't be touched by any of them."

Zelda looked down at the ring on her finger. Something about it seemed to absorb her mind and it took extremely great effort to look away. She stuffed the hand with the ring in her pocket and tried not to look at it again as they kept walking.

Finally they reached the door to Zelda's room. It too was guarded by a monster, this time a white Iron Knuckle. It took it's ax and started to swing it but Zelda showed it the ring. It dropped the ax and stepped aside. She followed Iskot into the room and gasped. It was the original room she'd had all her life, only it was now dark colored and filled with evil. Iskot muttered something and left.

Zelda sat on her bed. It was one of those big beds in a semi-circle, with the flat side against the wall, where her head would go, and a large see-through canopy that surrounded the bed and came down from the ceiling very high up, but also had a thicker canopy with it like a 'curtain' for privacy. The bed had once been colorful with light purples and pinks and quite a bit of white. The bedpost in the back by the wall had once had three golden triangles on it to resemble the Triforce. The bed was now gray and black and dark, dark violet, and the Triforce on the bedpost was black.

The once bright and colorful room was now dark and dead. Zelda pulled the thick canopy curtain over the thin one and crawled under the blankets. She rested her head on the pillow, closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Eventually she fell asleep after an hour of tossing and turning, but sleep was not pleasurable either. Her sleep was filled with nightmares and dark visions of what would become if she didn't do something about Vaati's reign…

_She was walking down a dark corridor, when she found the dungeon door guarded by a Stalfos. She walked around and felt against the wall, till she found her secret loose stone. She looked around, saw the coast was clear, and pushed it in. A small doorway opened. She hurried in and closed it. As soon as the door closed, she took a torch and walked down the stairs. The farther into the dungeons she went, the closer she got to breaking down and running out. She heard faint voices and hurried toward it, but something hit her and she dropped down to the ground. The torch fell out of her hands and monstrous hands reached down to her. Vaati walked through the door and shook his head and then everything went dark…_

Zelda sat up straight, sweating feverishly, trying hard not to scream. Panting, she looked over at the window. It was still dark out. She took in a few deep breaths and lied back down. She stared at the top of the canopy and tried to remember the dream, but the more she tried to remember it the more it slipped away. Finally she fell asleep again.

"_Zelda… Zelda, you have to stop him, you have to stop Vaati…" said a voice._

"_Who's there? Who are you?" she asked._

"_Don't you recognize my voice?"_

"_No! Who are you? Where are you hiding!"_

"_Never mind, that's not important now. You'll find out eventually. Listen to me, Zelda. You have to conquer Vaati and take over before it's too late! If you don't succeed in this task by the next full moon, Vaati will be unstoppable! That gives you a month. But the sooner you do this, the better!"_

"_What's he planning to do?"_

"_I can't say that here. You need to meet me in the Dark Dungeon as soon as possible. I'll explain everything there."_

"_The Dark Dungeon! There's no way I'm going down there!"_

"_You have to, Zelda. It's the only way. You're going to wake up soon, but before I forget, let me add this very quickly: he's not gone!"_

"_Who's not gone? Vaati? I know that!" The voice didn't respond. "Wait, where'd you go! Can I at least have a name!" But everything faded away. Zelda called out again but still got no reply._

The princess awoke again. After a while, she opened the canopy slightly, only to be swallowed by bright sunlight. She closed it again and the light faded. Surrounded in the darkness of her bed, she thought over the dream, which in moments, she couldn't remember, just like the first dream. But the voice of the person echoed through her head, saying her name. She tried to think about who it belonged to, but it vanished as soon as she began trying.

She finally gave up. She stood up and got dressed into clean attire. Then she sat on her windowsill and waited. She didn't know what or who for, or why, and she didn't particularly care, yet it mattered completely. She just sat and waited for the answer to come.


	5. Stealth

**STEALTH.**

**"You're **not eating anything, my Queen."

Zelda had come down for breakfast ten minutes ago, but all she'd used her fork for was to move her food around. She didn't answer him. She didn't consider herself a queen, but still a princess, though she wasn't anymore.

"Are you feeling well?"

The princess—er, _queen—_shook her head slightly. She wasn't feeling well at all. In fact, since she woke up, she'd felt like someone had ingested her and then spat her back up.

"You look quite pale."

She didn't look up. She pushed her eggs around her plate and kept quiet, trying not to look at the ring on her finger or at Vaati.

"Would you like to go back to your room and rest?" he asked her gently. She nodded. "Very well, then. You may go."

Zelda stood up and walked out of the dining hall. She kept her head down but her eyes were alert for any monsters about to attack. She'd been attacked four times, who she stopped by showing them the ring by the time she reached her room. Once inside, she locked the door and hurried to the bathroom attached to her room and began to throw up, tears running down her cheeks as she did. But she also felt something cold on her, something that felt like cold arms wrapping themselves around her comfortingly. When she finished, she went to her bed and laid down on it, closing the curtains.

Her throat burning, she reached over for the glass of water she'd put beside her bed the night before but found it missing. In its place, however, was a wad of paper. She took it and opened it up. It was a note to her. It read:

"_Be sure you don't delay. Remember, the sooner, the better!"_

She had no idea what that meant, as her dream had not yet returned to her since it escaped her mind. She tossed it side and got up to get some water from the kitchen. Once there, she drank four glasses of ice cold water. She noticed a box of something and looked inside. It was a cake, with the words: Happy First Day of Being My Queen! Love, Vaati. She grimaced. The man she married was sick minded. "Does he actually think I love him?" she asked aloud. _I love someone much better._ The thought involuntarily crossed her mind, and a shiver ran up her spine. She didn't love anyone. Who would she ever fall for? There was no one for her to love, there never had been and she doubted there ever will be. And yet something told her that there _was_ deep affection for someone, but she couldn't figure out who.

On her way down, she'd noticed that it was strangely quiet. No monsters were around anywhere. And on her way back up, they were still gone. She decided to take this opportunity to find the secret way into the Dark Dungeons, for emergencies or if she needed to get down there. The guard Stalfos to the dungeons was gone, so she felt around for the stone that pushed in. Vaati couldn't know about it yet, as she found the stone and pushed it in. A small passageway opened up for her at her feet. It was smaller than she remembered, but she managed to crawl through, pull the stone back and conceal the passageway.

She walked down the stairs and found the trapdoor that led to the Dark Dungeons. She opened it up and stuck her head down to see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, she pulled her head back up and hopped down, closing the trapdoor in doing so.

Walking through an empty corridor with empty cells, she heard voices below. She snuck down and opened the door to the last floor when she heard footsteps. She froze, knowing she'd get caught. But she shook her head violently and turned and bolted to the door she'd just come out of. She yanked the door open and gasped.

"What do we have here?" said Vaati, standing before her in the doorway.


	6. Memory

**MEMORY.  
**

**Zelda** awoke to a hard, cold floor and an annoying dripping sound. She moaned and opened her eyes. It was dark. She sat up and tried to remember what had happened before, and how she'd gotten there. Then she remembered. She'd snuck into the Dark Dungeons and had been caught by Vaati. His minions threw her into a cell and she'd been knocked out from the impact of her body onto the hard stone floor.

She looked at her hands. The left one was bloody, but she had no idea why. It was only then when she realized she had iron shackles around her wrists. They clung her to the wall of her cell and away from the door. She felt a sharp pain in her chest when she breathed, right above her heart. Wondering what it was, she pushed on the pain to reduce it with her right hand, but when she pulled her fingers away she could see in the dim light of a nearby torch the new blood on them. That was when she noticed the dagger.

Three feet away. Out of her reach with the shackles on. Thoughts clouded her mind, but she made a final assumption that someone had tried to stab her heart with it and left it there in a quick escape. But who would try to kill her? Her thoughts flew to Vaati instantly. But then a strange little voice in her head told her that was not the culprit. The image in her head switched to one of a blurry image. She couldn't see it, so she shrugged it away.

Later that day, Vaati came into her cell. He brought in a torch and hung it on the cell wall. He sat next to Zelda, anger in his eyes. "Why did you defy my clear orders to stay out of the Dark Dungeons?" he asked, his voice resisting shouts. She didn't answer. "Why!"

Finally she spoke. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I wanted to see if I could do it."

"Well now you know you can," he said. "And thanks to your sudden adventuresome craving, I had to throw my own wife into the dungeons!"

"You didn't have to throw me in here. You could've let me be."

Her words shocked him. "Zelda?" A thought struck him and for the first time, Zelda thought she saw in his eyes… fear. But it soon vanished and she ignored it. "Zelda, did you come down here in hopes of finding a way out?"

"Why would I do that when I could just use the front door?"

"I mean, is there something bothering you? Are you unhappy being my queen?" She couldn't answer; the question stumped her as much as him. "Is there… someone else?"

She looked at him. "I'm not sure. What do you mean?"

"Well, I just want to know. Do you love me? Or does your heart belong to someone else?"

She figured there was no point in lying. "Vaati… no. I don't love you. But my heart doesn't belong to anyone else."

"What about that stupid hero I killed? What's his name again?"

"Link, his name is Link!"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter." She stood. "Doesn't matter! How can you say his name doesn't matter? That's like saying _your _name doesn't matter, or _my_ name doesn't matter! He was my best friend, but you had to go and kill him! You ruined my life! You absolutely _ruined_ my life! You tricked me into marrying you. And I don't love you, or Link, or anyone else for that matter! There's no one in the world left who cares the slightest bit about me, and though you may say you do, I can tell that you're lying! It's obvious! I can see it in your eyes! No evil man can fall in love and have it be true! It's unthinkable! Evil men only pretend to fall in love to get something out of it! And doesn't make anyone happy, especially not the one you fall for! You may be happy, but what about me? I'm not happy! There is no one left on the planet that cares about me. I don't even know why I'm still alive. Vaati, I… I… I hate you!"

She expected Vaati to smack her or beat her or kill her, but she didn't care. There was nothing left, no reason to keep on living. Her life should've ended the moment Link's did. He was the only person ever to walk on the face of the planet who understood her and knew her inside and out. She let the tears fall down her cheeks and then began to sob heavily. She just wanted her life to be over. Her eyes caught the glint of the dagger. "Vaati, hand me that dagger on the floor over there." He didn't move, surprised that she felt bold enough to give him a command. "Give me the dagger, Vaati," she growled, her voice raising.

Finally he complied and handed her the dagger. She held it in her hand, running a finger over the bloodstains on it. Her blood. Her stains. Her life. She held it to her chest and slid to the floor. She looked it over. Was it the same weapon used to kill Link? Was some of this Link's blood? She let tears fall on it. Something about the dagger soothed her, calmed her. She felt… safe. For the first time since Link departed to fight Vaati, she felt safe. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to have her and the dagger head to the tomb Link's body resided in and stab herself next to his body. They would be dead together and that was all that mattered. All she wanted was to die and be with Link, where she would be safe with him for all eternity. She raised the dagger and plunged it into her heart. All went black and she fell over.

**xXx**

**Zelda** woke to darkness. Her eyes were open, but everywhere she looked she saw darkness. She wondered if this was hell. She sighed. If it was hell, there was slim chance that Link was there with her. He'd be in heaven. But then, why was she in hell? She never did anything wrong.

And then she remembered. Suicide was a sin. By killing herself, she'd allowed the doorway to hell open for her. She hung her head. Her attempt to die and be with Link forever was fruitless. She'd never see him again. How could she? He did nothing but good deeds in his life. It offered him a ticket away from hell and into heaven.

But before she knew it, a light appeared. Was she entering heaven? Had there been a mistake, and now it was being corrected?

No. The light shone on her. It was the light of a torch, held by Vaati. Then she noticed the cell bars. She was still alive. He was kneeling next to her, worry and anger merged into his eyes. All of a sudden, he leaned over and kissed her again. Something happened and when he pulled away, she leaned her head against the stone wall and fell asleep.

**xXx**

**When** she awoke again, she knew immediately that something was very wrong, but what it was she didn't know. Until she tried to remember why she'd tried killing herself in the first place. Nothing came to her. That memory was blank. She knew she was married to Vaati and that she was currently locked in a cell for sneaking into the Dark Dungeons. She also remembered going to the graveyard and crying over someone's dead body, but the memory of who it was she was crying was gone.

She saw the dagger and picked it up. Had someone tried to kill her? She didn't remember stabbing herself. Thoughts flew to Vaati again. He'd tried to kill her. But then that mysterious voice said it wasn't him. An image appeared in her head.

_That is the enemy,_ said the voice._ The one who tried to kill you._

_But who is he? _Zelda thought. _And he looks like a pretty decent guy. What's his name?_

_Link. He's been caught and is dead now. Vaati took care of him before he could kill you._

Zelda sighed in relief. At least this so called 'Link' who'd tried to kill her was dead now. A thought of how brave Vaati was crossed her mind.

Little did she know that Vaati was standing next to the cell unseen, smirking in triumph, knowing that all of her memories of Link were gone.


	7. Miracle

**MIRACLE.  
**

**Zelda **spent the next three weeks in her cell, with no human contact other than the occasional visit from someone to bring her food. She heard something. She put an ear down on the cold stone floor and listened. People were talking below, although it sounded more like an argument than a conversation. She couldn't hear the words being said. Vaati and two Iron Knuckles walked past her cell up to the floor above, without a glance at her.

She remembered: she had magical powers as a Sage. But did she remember how to use them? The memory made Vaati's spell on her weaker, and she no longer thought of him as a hero, but as a monster. She felt nothing more than an urge to escape and her only hope was to try to use magic. No way was she rotting her life away in her own dungeons until Vaati allowed her to come back out! She pointed a finger at the shackles on the other hand and concentrated. A thin beam of white light burst out of her finger and went into the shackle lock. It fell off her wrist. She shook her right hand to get more blood inside them—the shackles cut off most circulation—and then unlocked her left shackle.

Quietly, she hurried up to the cell door and unlocked it. It opened with a creak and she closed it and locked it, then scanned herself with her hand and shot a clone of herself into the cell. The shackles immediately wrapped themselves around her clone's wrist. At first she turned to go up the stairs, but then she remembered the voices. Curiosity alone was enough to cover her fear and keep her feet moving.

The doors loomed in front of her with every one she went through. Were the voices only her imagination? She decided to open one more door and then leave, but when she closed her fist around the doorknob and turned it, the door didn't budge. It was locked.

_Now why would this door be locked when all the others aren't? _she wondered. She tried her magic. It took eight times to crack the lock. Her hand on the knob again, she thought of what could be on the other side. A monster? _My life has no meaning anymore, anyway, so who cares if there's a monster on the other side? If it kills me, I'll be out of my misery. _Slowly, she opened the door and walked inside.

There was no monster there, only a torch casting light onto cell bars. She saw no door in the room but the one she was standing in. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the cell. Caution was gone. She didn't care if she died or not, but she didn't remember why. A dark figure was inside the cell. She saw its silhouette in the torchlight: shackles bound around wrists and ankles and neck; head hung, hair hanging in its face; knees apart, hands loosely resting between them. The figure was sitting on a bench, leaned over, and she wanted to see its face. "Hello?" she said. The figure didn't stir. Was it dead? Or just asleep. She shrugged, turned away, and headed for the door, stopping when it said her name.

"Zelda?"

She turned. The figure came into view from the torchlight as it moved off the bench and near the cell bars. It was a young man her age, and he looked familiar, but she didn't know who it was. He had dark blue eyes that seemed to shine in happiness as they saw her face, and gold-blond hair hung in front of them as he grinned broadly. She approached him slowly.

"Um… do I… _know_ you?" she asked.

"It's me, Zelda," he said. "Don't you recognize me?" She shook her head. His smile faded into a frown. "Did he do it?"

"Did who do what?"

"Vaati. Did he make you lose your memory of me?"

"Look, I don't know you, so whatever you want, just say so."

"Tell me my name."

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me my name," he repeated.

"I don't know your name. You tell me."

"Come here." He beckoned her to come closer to her, and she did, sitting by him on the other side of the bars. She saw a scar on his chin and a gash in his forehead that trailed onto his right eye to about half an inch off his eye toward his nose. She asked him what happened to his face. "I got it from my last battle," he said. "Now, don't fight me, but I want to get your memory back." His left hand reached through the cell bars and touched hers, then held it up. Her eyes went to their hands. His fingers locked with hers. She had felt this touch before. He put her hand to his cheek. The touch of her hand on his face shocked a lost memory into her and she said his name, knowing exactly who he was.

"_LINK!"_


	8. Reunited

**REUNITED.  
**

**Link** smiled. "I knew something would bring you back," he said, putting her hand down and moving his back into the cell. She felt a desire to take his hand again, but ignored it.

"How is this possible?" she breathed. "You're supposed to be—"

"Dead?" Link finished for her. She nodded and he scowled. "Vaati cloned me. He killed the clone, put it in the graveyard and locked me up in here." He added quickly, "But remember, he must be defeated by the next full moon. That's tomorrow night!"

She nodded. She stood and touched his cell's lock. Sparks flew from her finger into the keyhole and it opened. Link stood as she yanked the cell door open. She ran at him and flung her arms around him tightly in a hug. "I missed you," she admitted wholeheartedly.

He hugged her back and whispered in her ear, "I missed you, too."

An enormous longing to kiss him washed over her, and she wondered where the feeling came from. They pulled away from each other and she traced a finger over his wounds. "Let me heal these," she said. Without a reply, she felt coolness in her finger as she continued tracing the wounds. They healed at her touch and vanished.

"Thank you, Zelda," he said.

"Your welcome." She felt extraordinarily guilty and showed him her wedding ring. "He made me," she explained, tears welling in her eyes. "I was under a spell."

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her in a brotherly hug. "It's fine."

"But it's not," she insisted. No matter how much she wanted the tears to stay in her eyes, they still began to fall. She brought her hands up to her face, balled up in fists, and weeped into Link's chest. She was ashamed to cry in front of him, much less on him.

"Go ahead, Zelda," he said as if he read her thoughts. "You can cry."

She sobbed heavily for what seemed like forever. Finally she stopped and pulled away from him. He wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes. "Do you feel better?" he asked. She nodded slightly.

"A little bit." He smiled. She took his hand. "Come on. Let's get out of here." They ran out of the cell and to the door, but when Zelda opened it, she let go of Link's hand and gasped.

"So, I see you've learned the truth, eh, love?" Vaati asked Zelda coolly.

She stood in front of Link protectively—which would've felt weird since it was usually the other way around, but it didn't this time—and said, "I am _not _your love."

He chuckled. "But you are my queen," he said. "And I can't let you see Link here anymore. I don't want my wife deceiving me behind my back..."

"We're just friends," she said firmly.

"Of course you are. And that's the closest you'll get, my dear, as your _friend _here has an appointment."

"With who!"

Vaati grinned. "DEATH!" he answered, laughing evilly.

Zelda gasped. Link was not going to die, not when she had spent near to a month mourning over his supposed death and then found him. But what good would words do? Vaati was an all-powerful sorcerer. _But I'm an all-powerful Sage,_ she told herself. "You'll never get away with this! I'll murder you!"

"Ah, but you can be sure that you won't, my love," he said, shoving her aside and immobilizing Link. "You wouldn't want your friend to get hurt, would you?" He vanished, taking Link with him.

"Link, no!" she screamed. She clenched her fists and grit her teeth together in rage.

Vaati's voice sounded through the room. "If you want to keep Link alive, I'll meet you on the roof," he said, laughing.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, she bolted up to the roof.


	9. Battle

**BATTLE.  
**

**The** castle was empty on Zelda's way up to the roof. _Where are all of Vaati's monsters?_ she wondered. Something wasn't right. Still, she kept running until she reached the roof.

Vaati was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Link. "Link!" she called. "Vaati, you coward! Show yourself!"

"Coward?" Vaati materialized in front of her. "I'm here now, sweets. What do you want?"

"Where is Link!" she demanded.

"Do you_ really _think he's all that important a matter to discuss, love? He's not exactly the sharpest blade around."

Zelda scoffed. "He is very smart!"

"His calculations were wrong. Tomorrow's not the day I gain total control. Tonight is!" He laughed wickedly. Zelda showed no fear, and felt none except for what might've happened to Link. Vaati snapped his fingers and Link appeared next to him, his hands and legs and neck chained.

"Zelda, you've got to do something!" he said. "He's going to brainwash us! He's going to make me kill myself and make you be okay with it permanently!"

"Quiet, slave!" Vaati snapped. He waved a hand over Link's face and he went limp. "Your friend is right, my dear. He's going to kill himself and you're going to never even remember he existed. I don't know what he did to make you get your memory back, but he won't be around to do it again." He winked. "Actually, now that I think about it, I've no use for you any more. I've already used you as a way to take control of the world. I'll only need to use you once more, tonight, and afterward I can waste you any way I want." He smiled. "But then again, do I really _want _to waste you? You are my queen, after all. You could stick around for a while, if you'd rather do the honors and kill your friend here instead. It's your choice, but in the end, it's mine, love."

Zelda couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't believe her ears. She took a deep breath, and said, quietly at first, "Do—not—call—me—LOVE!" Blinding white light burst from inside her. Vaati raised his cloak above his face to shield his eyes; Link looked away and kept his eyes shut, unable to move his hands due to the weight of his manacles.

The light vanished but Zelda kept glowing a faint white, almost like a ghost. Her eyes were all white and flaming white balls formed around her fists. She glared at Vaati. "I will kill you," she said, her voice firm and full of certainty. "You will pay for everything you have done. You are a monster and I will slay you."

Vaati seemed amused. He laughed. "Is that so?" he asked. "Well, then, my dear..." All his amusement was replaced by dark seriousness. "Let the battle to the death begin!"

He flashed black twice, and then his form took that of a stick-skinny, robed being with two tiny, piercing black eyes on his head and one large, menacing eyeball underneath his violet-and-black robes.

Link knew this form. He'd fought it the night Vaati created and killed his clone and imprisoned him. "Zelda!" he yelled. "I know his weak spot!"

"Shut up, fool!" Vaati hollered, the chains around Link's neck tightening dangerously. "You stay out of this! This is not your battle!" Zelda looked at Link softly. This was not Link's mêlée, it was hers, and she wanted to keep it that way. _Still, _she thought, _a little pointer would do nicely._

"Zelda, hit the giant eye!"

She looked at Vaati again. "Thanks," she said, throwing a white ball at Vaati's large eye. He was taken by surprise, still having a bit of fun suffocating Link. "Leave him alone! He's got nothing to do with this! If you're a man, then act like one. Fight one battle at a time, and don't try any funny tricks!"

"But, my dear," the sorcerer protested innocently, "I enjoy playing funny tricks!" He whipped himself back onto his feet and threw a bolt of dark energy at Zelda, who blocked it with a white shield. He broke through the shield with another blast, then threw Zelda back into the wall of the stone building where the stairs to the floor below lay inside. She groaned and slumped to the ground. Vaati came over to her slowly and smirked when at her feet. "Pitiful dear, is that the best you've got? I always knew women would make terrible warriors. And here's my proof. One blast took her down."

Zelda's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle, then pulled it to the ground. He was taken by surprise and fell. She scrambled to her feet. "Don't think so, Vaati," she sneered. She ran quickly to where Link was suspended in midair and hurriedly shot at the keyholes in the shackles, which fell to the ground with a clang. Link landed gracefully on his feet.

"I owe you," he said.

A strange sound made Zelda look backward. Vaati was on his feet and pointing at them. Behind him, hoards of his minions came clambering out of the building and pouring onto the roof. "No time for that," Zelda muttered to Link. "Can you fend these off for me while I fight Vaati?"

"For you, Zelda?" he asked, unsheathing his sword. "Anything."

"Thank you."

"Want me to kill all these goons and then help you defeat Vaati?" he asked solemnly.

Zelda looked at him gravely and stared into his eyes briefly. "No, Link," she said. "This, as Vaati said, is my battle. I've got to take him down, or him me. I can't let you help me. This is something I must do for myself. Do you understand that?"

Link leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Of course I do." With a small smile, he ran off and began to fend off the monsters as Zelda faced Vaati again.

"You're such a coward," she growled as he drew near. "Bringing up your pathetic little minions just to outnumber and win against me. Pathetic. I've seen dead cows with more dignity than you."

"ENOUGH!" Vaati slammed her to the ground with his magic. "I am extraordinarily tired with your silly little games, Zelda. I will tolerate it no longer! You call me pathetic? Look who's talking. Who'd be pathetic enough to fall in love with a guy like Link? That is so predictable. Everyone knew it would happen one day or another."

"I am not in love with Link," Zelda spat. "Quit saying that!"

"Why should I obey you? And the denying was expected as well! Typical princess-hero relationship stories. Hero saves the day, princess falls in love with them, people find out, princess denies her love, hero confesses, princess finally confesses, and they both live happily and prosperously for all their lives. It's old, Zelda, real old. This is your storybook, and the princess-hero relationship story is not in this one. Rewrite it! Let evil conquer, like it always was meant to be!"

"Oh, I'll be rewriting the story alright," Zelda snarled. "But the story won't be the one you want. It'll be a princess-hero relationship story, that's for sure, but there's a missing part. The part where the princess gains a little dignaty and defeats the villain by herself!"


	10. Courage

**COURAGE.  
**

**Vaati** was caught off guard by Zelda's next attack. She burst out white light and aimed it directly at him. He was hit full blast and slammed backwards, killing some of his own minions. He slumped to the ground and shook his head. Zelda didn't hesitate. She picked up a sword that one of the dead monsters had dropped and lunged at him. He was ready this time. He grabbed a sword himself and theirs clashed.

All the while, Link was picking off Vaati's minions quite a few at a time. He never hesitated to attack, but whenever he was free of the enemies for even just a second or two, he'd turn to look at Zelda. Then he would quickly destroy a few extra monsters.

Zelda and Vaati slashed their swords at each other, but only hit the other's blade rather than them themselves. And while Zelda thought she could just kill him at any moment he faltered an attack, Vaati had other things in mind, and was laughing in his head as each step and swing they took brought Zelda closer and closer to the edge of the roof.

Dark magic pulsed through Vaati's sword and threw Zelda back a few feet. She was unaware of how dangerously close she was to the edge until she stepped back to block Vaati's next swipe with the blade and her foot missed the ground. She flung her arms forward, desperately trying not to lose her footing, but fell anyway.

"Zelda!" Link cried out when he saw this. _"No!"_

Vaati laughed and turned to Link. "And, now that _she's_ out of the way, it's time to be rid of you as well!"

Link grabbed a monster from behind him and threw it onto Vaati. He fell, the monster atop him, and Link hurried to the edge of the roof, unaware of the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. "Zelda!" he called. What he saw both relieved and frightened him. Zelda was hanging on for her life to a stone that had slightly pushed itself out of the wall over time. Link thought quickly, then held on to the blade of his sword. "Grab the hilt!" he told her, extending it down to her.

She looked up, fear in her eyes. "Link, look out!"

Link turned and rolled out of the way as Vaati lunged a shot of dark magic at him. He ran behind the dark sorcerer and kicked him off the roof. Knowing that Vaati would soon fly back up, he took this opportunity to go save Zelda. Once again he held the hilt out to her as he grabbed the blade so she would have a more firm grip without worrying about slicing up her hands. She nodded and grabbed it, then Link, with all his strength, pulled her up. She collapsed in a heap onto him, and hugged him tightly.

Suddenly, rain began to fall. It fell lightly at first, and then harder. Zelda looked at Link's hands and gasped; they were sliced from the blade and bleeding. She gripped them in her hands and held them to her heart, and a soft white-green glow formed around their hands. His wounds healed, Link took his hands and cupped her face in them.

"Zelda, I... I want to tell you something," he stammered.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

He swallowed hard. "Well, I just want to say that... if we don't make it out of this alive, I just want to say that..." He leaned over and kissed Zelda softly on the lips. She was surprised at first, but then she relaxed. He broke away and looked her in the eye. "I love you," he said finally. "I've loved you for a very long time now. And though I am known for my courage, I've never actually had the courage to do one thing, and that was to tell you my true feelings." He blushed. "This sounds like it came out of some romance novel." He laughed, but it was half-heartedly. "And... you probably are angry with me—"

She shook her head and put a finger to his lips. "Never," she said softly, smiling the tiniest of smiles.

He smiled back, and then frowned again. "But... that doesn't have to mean you love me," he said. "It's all right if you don't love me back, but... please just tell me now if you do or don't. I can't go on not knowing."

She paused. Did she love Link? She felt an overwhelming sense of emotion, and it was hardly bearable, but she couldn't find the right words. However, it was the wrong time when she finally spoke.

"I—"

A dark wind cut her off. It swirled down onto the roof and formed Vaati. His look was that of pure anger. Zelda and Link left the comfort of each other's arms and stood. Vaati laughed coldy. "Well, well, well, isn't this something," he said, more as a statement than a question. "So very romantic. And also so very predictable, and so very archaic. I really had expected more from you, Zelda. You could've been original, but no. You chose to fall in love with the first person that everyone expected you to fall for. I didn't have as high of expactations from him because, as you know, he is a young man, and we men typically go for the prettier and wealthier women."

Link took a step toward him, his fists clenched. "You shut your mouth!" he yelled at the sorcerer. "How _dare _you say I only go for pretty and wealthy women! Yes, Zelda is very pretty—she's beautiful—and I couldn't care less if she was wealthy or poor. The fact that I am in love with her has nothing to do with her wealth! She's beautiful, she's funny, she's brilliant, and just an all-around great person!" Zelda blushed. "But you are an evil monster that made her believe I was dead, causing her to grieve, then you depleted her memories of me, and then you _married_ her, for Goddesses' sake, and now you want to kill her! If she doesn't kill you, then I will!"

Vaati raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?" he asked coolly.

"Yes. Yes it is."

The sorcerer smirked. "In that case..." He held up his hand and shot his dark magic at Link. He became enclosed in a magical cage which began to hover in the sky, leaving room for a battle. Vaati formed a sword in his hand and pointed it at Zelda. "Are you ready to get your hands dirty, my queen?" he asked her.

"I'm plenty dirty," she growled in reply, picking up Link's sword in her hand and getting ready for battle.


	11. Truth

**TRUTH.  
**

**The** sword in her hand scraped against Vaati's. She was no swordswoman, but she could get by from what Link had taught her over the years. It had been enough before, but now it didn't seem to be. Vaati was winning, and she knew it, but for the sake of her stubborn hope, she wouldn't admit it.

Monsters clamored around Link's cage. Some tried to crawl in, but failed. When Vaati knocked Zelda to the ground, he spelled the cage to allow things to come in but nothing to come out. Zelda swiped her sword at Vaati. He dodged.

She could barely get back on her feet. At that moment she knew something was very wrong. Something was keeping her from killing him, from using her full strength. It seemed that every attempt to attack him made her weaker, and the sword in her hand now had to be clasped with two; it was becoming heavier on her arms. But what was it? What was holding her back? She attempted a magic attack, but it only depleted her energy more. Vaati took this opportunity to grab her by the collar, knock the sword out of her hand and punch her three times across the face. He let her go. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

Rain began to pour steadily.

"You're going to die, Zelda," said Vaati coolly, pointing his sword, which crackled with black lightning, at her. "Link's going to die, too. Just look at him. He's got no weapon and none of those monsters can leave the cage once they go in."

Link could not be seen, but the hoards of monsters piling into his cage sure could be.

He kneeled down and lifted her chin off the roof floor and turned her face up to his. She looked him in the eye. "You could've lived, you know. I would've spared your life. I married you, Zelda, and as my wife, I need to respect and honor you." His smile melted away and his face was dark. "But you did not show any respect to me. You yearned for Link, and when you found him, you couldn't keep away. And what was that whole show that you two lovebirds put on earlier? How dare he tells you he loves you. Whatever honor you had was stripped away the moment you let him kiss you. You, a married woman! For all I know, you could've ended up sleeping with him had I been gone long enough!"

Zelda stiffened and her face turned a bright crimson, but she said nothing.

"You blush, and yet you don't speak. You don't refute my words. Tell me, Zelda — my darling, sweet Zelda — why do you do this to me? You don't love me. And don't deny you're love for that lowly commoner. It's as plain as the nose on your face."

Finally, words came to her mouth. She spoke them automatically and without a thought as to what she was saying. "You're right, Vaati. I don't love you. I love Link. And he loves me, too. It's high time you quit your flirting and sweet-talking. You don't love me, either. You're evil. You can't love. You just say these things to get what you want. Well, you know something? I'm tired of it. It's old, and I'm tired of it. You disgust me, and I'm going to kill you!"

Wobbly-kneed, she managed to stand. The sword seemed so far away. Vaati stood and let her hobble over to get it. He smirked when she couldn't lift it off the ground.

"Feeling a bit light-headed, are we?" he asked, hovering several inches above the ground. He flew over to her. "What's the matter, Zelda? Is that sword feeling a little bit heavy?"

"Shut up," she snarled. "You're at fault for this, aren't you?"

"I wonder… darling, how come you didn't get the whole 'Sage' thing earlier? You defeated Ganondorf, and yet here you are, unable to defeat me. I don't even have that damned Triforce. Not that I want it, or anything.

"You grieved for Link when you thought he was dead. That's normal. You mourned for him longer than most because he was your friend and you loved him, though you didn't know it at the time. And being forced to marry me didn't help much, did it?"

He flew over to Link's cage and closed it off. It was getting crowded in there. In the blink of an eye, he was back at Zelda's side, muttering to her, "But then, how come, after we wed, you suddenly brought on a total character conversion. Even after I wiped your memories of Link, you remained in your grief-stricken paralysis. Pray tell, do you know why that is? Because I do. I know exactly why."

"You're just going to tell me?" Zelda barked.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Because, you're going to die anyway. Why die ignorant to the truth?" He faced her. "Look at your left hand, my darling."

She did. At first, she didn't notice anything abnormal, but then — she gasped.

"The… ring?"

"See this baby?" Vaati tapped it with a finger. "That there ring has changed your personality completely to the way I chose it to change. It made you feel weak and insecure for reasons you didn't know or remember. You're a smart young woman, Zelda. Intelligence couldn't be blocked off even when I made it seem like the ring meant nothing, really. A change in attitude right when it comes on… Fortunately, your new attitude kept you from thinking straight. And now it's weakening you. I could very easily kill you right now." He, behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and held his face next to hers, so he could whisper in her ear, "Face it Zelda, you're at my mercy. That ring could boil your blood or melt your innards or keep your heart from beating, all with a mental command from yours truly."

Beads of sweat rolled down Zelda's face. She looked at the ring on her finger and tried to pull it off, but to no avail. Vaati laughed.

"It won't come off for you, sweets," he said. "That ring will never leave your finger. You're being utterly foolish."

But, as it turns out, the one being utterly foolish was Vaati. For Zelda could think fast, and think fast she did. _That ring will never leave your finger..._ The words echoed in her head as she eyed the small weapon that a monster had dropped.

Vaati should've killed her then and there, but delay was his downfall. He should've killed her when she dropped Link's sword and limped away from him. He _really _should've killed her when she bent down to pick up the small dagger that a monster had dropped. But he didn't kill her. He laughed instead.

"You can pick it up, sure, but you can't kill me with it."

She turned around slowly, facing him, but kept her eyes on the dagger in her hands. It was not a debatable issue at all. It was her and Link's life or this. She chose the latter, and in one swing, she sliced off her finger and Vaati's laughter died away.


	12. Death

**DEATH.  
**

**Blood **spilled from the place where the ring finger on Zelda's left hand used to be. The finger, the ring still attached to it, fell her feet. Zelda merely winced when she chopped it off; it was little pain compared to whatever else she'd felt that night. Quickly, she felt her strength return to her, and she was ready. No more lies. No more deception. Vaati was going to die, and she would reclaim her throne and her dignity. She dashed over to Link's sword and gripped it firmly in her right hand. She was right-handed, unlike Link. In her earlier years she'd envied Link and his being left-handed, but now she was glad she wasn't because her left hand throbbed in pain and she'd never be able to hold a sword in it.

Vaati gaped at her, completely shocked. It was obvious that he'd never thought she'd ever cut off a finger, if the thought had ever even crossed his mind. His hold on her was gone. He scolded himself for not spelling the ring to keep her from doing such a thing, but he'd never thought she'd go through with it.

Then again, it _was_ only a finger.

"You've no control over me anymore," Zelda growled, eyes glowing white. "And you wouldn't dare flee. I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill you now!"

White fire burst at her fists and surrounded the sword in her hand. She jumped and swung it in the air, sending four blades of light after Vaati, who was running for the door to downstairs. All four light-blades hit him. Three sliced up his back. The other one whizzed past his ear and cut his purple hair. He stumbled. Zelda ran over to him and threw white fireballs at him, which burned various bits of pale skin and purple garments.

He had been draining her life force and giving it to himself. Now that it was back in her, it sapped him of his energy double what he'd taken, and he was weak and vulnerable. Vaati rolled away from her next attack and forged a dark shield around himself, that broke with two swings of the sword. The sword was brought down and his arm was removed from his body. Dark blood poured from the wound. He screeched in pain and flew into the air.

He couldn't fly up very far, and Zelda grabbed his cape and pulled him back down. He struggled to get away, but she yanked him down and threw four more light daggers at him. One of them pierced his hand on the arm he had left. The dagger went through his hand and pinned him to the wall of the building which held the stairs to go down. He tried desperately to remove the dagger, but had no other hand to help him do so. Zelda could feel his fear. She didn't hesitate; she built up all her power into the sword and jammed it into Vaati's chest, penetrating his cold heart. He screamed in agony.

Zelda's fires died and her eyes returned to normal. She was still in her stance: one foot forward, one arm back, the other holding the sword thrust into Vaati. She breathed heavily.

Vaati looked at her mournfully. "W…why did you do this, Zelda? Why did you kill me?"

"You know perfectly well why I did this," was the icy reply.

He stared at her, sad, defeated red eyes looking into her angry blue ones. The tiniest of smiles crept onto his face.

"You've defeated me, Zelda, I'll give you that," he told her. "But I can assure you, you're not rid of me completely."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

His smile grew wide into a smirk. "You'll find out soon enough. Farewell, my dear Zelda." He cackled wickedly, and continued laughing until his breathing stopped and he entered death.

Zelda left the sword embedded in his chest. Even as the light dagger in his hand faded away and his arm fell limply by his side, he remained pinned to the wall. She turned around. All the monsters had vanished. So had Link's cage. She looked down to see Link lying on his back, bleeding heavily. She walked over to him and kneeled by his side.

"Link…?" she asked. He didn't appear to be breathing. Hot tears pressed at her eyes. She fell on top of him, wrapping her arms around him and crying into his chest, which was still warm. "Link, Link, please don't die. Please don't die on me. I love you, damn it all, wake up. I can't go through this a second time. Please, Link, please… don't… You know I love you… wake up, you idiot… wake…" She lifted her head up and held his face in her hands. She leaned down slowly and kissed his lips. She came up slightly and whispered, "I love you, Link. More than anyone in the world." She kissed him again, more passionately this time. She let go. He was dead. His body was cooling, and he was dead, for real this time. She suddenly crawled to the side of the roof and vomited. She wiped her mouth and returned to Link, holding his lifeless corpse up in her arms as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

There was a dead wind sorcerer hanging on a wall with a sword through his chest. There was a lifeless young man who had saved many. And there was a young woman, holding the love of her life in her arms, and weeping silently, as the rain poured over them all.


	13. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE.  
**

**Queen **Zelda of Hyrule, widow of the wind sorcerer Vaati, lover of the Hero of Time, and ruler of the Hyrulian throne, looked through the window. It'd been ten months since that night with Link and Vaati on the roof, and she'd immediately taken the reins on her kingdom after a night of grieving.

Vaati had changed and destroyed a lot of things. For instance, the market was in shambles and the palace had gone dark. She got royal guards and servants back into the castle and spent money on repairing damaged villages and the market.

As for Vaati, his body had been removed from the roof by the new guards and burned on a stake in the middle of Hyrule Field. Many people gathered to watch his body's burning, and they cheered when his ashes were swept away. His ashes were put in a box and buried deep underground in the desert to the west, past the Gerudo Fortress.

Link's body was taken to the Royal Family Tomb by Zelda herself. There was a funeral at the graveyard, and they all watched Zelda venture down into the tomb alone, waiting silently for her return. She took him to a proper burial room, deeper within the tomb and in a room adjacent to where her father and mother slept. The phony Link had vanished in the other room, and so had the marble coffin and the inscriptions on the door. She chiseled new inscriptions into his newer headstone and door.

Zelda had laid Link's body into the coffin and kissed his icy lips one last time before putting the lid over him and leaving the tomb. She'd locked up the room where his casket lay with powerful magic so that nobody but herself could enter. The words on the headstone by his coffin read, _"R.I.P. Link, beloved hero and friend," _and his door had nothing on it but a tiny L, so that people wouldn't know exactly who was inside.

A wake for Link had been thrown about week after his funeral, and it was held at the castle. Nearly everyone who lived in Hyrule attended, dressed in many colors. Zelda told them to wear what was comfortable. "Link wouldn't want you all to get all dressed and dolled up just for him," she'd told them with a laugh, but it was a sad one.

Ruto, the new Zora queen, who had been in hysterics at the funeral, was happily telling stories of when Link saved her from Jabu-Jabu and proclaimed his love for her, and the story of when he rescued her at the Water Temple. Her tales of his 'declarations of love' for her didn't bother Zelda. She let the Zora queen have her fun.

All the little Kokiri children were there, talking about their times with Link when he lived with them in the forest. Even Mido was a little less grumpy than usual, especially when he sat in deep conversation with a little Gerudo girl his age. Saria, Link's childhood friend and the Forest Sage, hung around with Darunia, the Fire Sage and Link's "Sworn Brother", and Zelda smiled slightly when she saw Saria blush at something Darunia said.

Two other Sages, Impa and Nabooru, muttered to each other by a wall, observing everybody around them as they talked. Rauru, another Sage, only left the snack bar to go to the restroom.

Plenty of colorful people were here, discussing Link and what he'd done for them. Zelda said hello and talked briefly with each of them at least once, except for Malon, the beautiful redheaded ranch keeper who said a quick hello and then kept avoiding her. Zelda didn't care much at the time.

Ten months, all that happened, and now, things were starting to look normal. Zelda was a bit troubled by one though, and that one thing was not a small issue. At first, she'd considered never remarrying and to rule alone, but she knew that was foolish, for she'd leave no heirs to claim the throne if she did so, and she had no siblings to do that for her. So, she'd decided to marry someone and produce heirs strictly for royal duty, knowing she'd never love another man like she did Link. However, something big came up. She was scared by it, and still was.

A month earlier, she'd given birth to triplets. Two were boys and one was a little girl. None of them looked alike. One of the boys had blond hair and dark blue eyes, whom she named Thomas. The other two came with names, names that were imprinted in her mind when she named them Vikter and Vanessa. Vikter, the youngest, didn't live long. He was born very small and scrawny and died ten days after he was born. Vanessa, who was born before all three of them, scared her mother the most. The little girl had red eyes and lavender hair. Vikter had had lavender hair and dark blue eyes, but as already said, he died quickly. They'd been born with little tufts of hair, but enough to judge what the color would probably be.

Zelda knew who's children each child belonged to. The problem was, she didn't know how she gave birth to Link's child and Vaati's children at the same time. She couldn't kill Vanessa. The very thought was horrendous. Odds were she might not even grow up to be anything like Vaati. And she certainly had to hold onto Thomas, for he was the only thing left of Link.

As Zelda stared out her window, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Her moment of peace was over when Thomas began to wail, and she smiled sadly as she went to his aid.

**THE END.**


End file.
